Xi's Vietnam visit highlights 'camaraderie plus brotherhood'

HANOI -- On a balmy April morning in Hanoi, the second floor of the Hanoi International Convention Center hummed with anticipation, as representatives attending the Chinese and Vietnamese People's Friendship Meeting waited eagerly to welcome a special guest from China.

Around 10 am (0300 GMT), Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, walked into the venue alongside General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and Vietnamese President Luong Cuong. They strolled along the red carpet, smiling and waving to the hundreds of Chinese and Vietnamese delegates gathering there.

Smiles, joy and applause filled the room. It felt, in many ways, like a family reunion.

The Tuesday event was part of Xi's fourth visit to Vietnam in a decade and his first overseas tour of the year. During each trip, he would quote on multiple occasions late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh's famous description of China-Vietnam relations -- a bond of "camaraderie plus brotherhood."

That sentiment echoed in his speech on Tuesday, as he traced the deep historical ties between the two nations.

The China-Vietnam friendship took root in the mutual support between the two peoples, Xi said, adding that they fought shoulder to shoulder for the just cause of national independence and liberation, and created a shared revolutionary legacy that shaped their deep friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood."

For Nguyen Vinh Quang, vice-president of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, the expression of "camaraderie plus brotherhood" remains the "best testament to that shared history of standing together through storm and stress, with unwavering loyalty."

"During Vietnam's resistance wars against France and the United States, we received selfless assistance from China. It is a fact no one can or should ever forget," he said.

During his previous visits to Vietnam, Xi consistently emphasized the importance of passing on the traditional friendship between China and Vietnam to the younger generation. For him, the foundation of China-Vietnam friendship lies among the two peoples, and the future of this friendship will be created by the young people.

When meeting with Chinese and Vietnamese youth representatives during his visit to Vietnam in 2015, Xi expressed a firm belief that the traditional China-Vietnam friendship will certainly span the long river of history, growing even deeper and newer in spite of time.

When meeting representatives of young Chinese and Vietnamese and people who have contributed to the China-Vietnam friendship during his visit in 2023, Xi expressed the hope that the young people will take the lead in promoting bilateral friendship.

On Tuesday, Xi said that in the next three years, China will invite Vietnamese youth to China for "Red Study Tours," where they will explore the revolutionary heritage that underpins the bilateral friendship, and experience the dynamism of Chinese modernization.

The launch of the "Red Study Tours" reflects both sides' commitment to cherishing their shared revolutionary heritage, said Dao Ngoc Bau, director of the Institute of International Relations under the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

This initiative will help strengthen the friendship between the two peoples, particularly between the younger generations, he said.

One of the attendees, Nguyen Quang Minh, a lecturer at Vietnam's University of Transport and Communications, said he sensed from the speech "a steadfast resolve of China and Vietnam to pursue development hand in hand."

"Looking ahead," he said, "the younger generations of both countries will draw strength from their shared history to drive mutual prosperity and progress."